


Shiver

by queen_scribbles



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-16 05:41:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14158014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_scribbles/pseuds/queen_scribbles
Summary: for @pillarspromptsweekly fill 32: Ally Soul. Soon as I decided to use Kana, Emiri popped back up very interesting in being my muse for this one. I wonder why. :3





	Shiver

**Author's Note:**

> for @pillarspromptsweekly fill 32: Ally Soul. Soon as I decided to use Kana, Emiri popped back up very interesting in being my muse for this one. I wonder why. :3

 

To say the White March wasn’t Emiri’s favorite place in Eora would be a _vast_ understatement. The only place she was maybe more reluctant to visit would be Deadfire Archipelago, for all the memories it would dredge up. But she _really_ wasn’t fond of the cold, either. A fact she was fairly sure all her companions had figured out without her saying a word, given the number of layers she was wearing.

However, she wasn’t in the habit of refusing help to anyone who needed it, no matter how far up a snow-capped mountain they might live. If Stalwart needed her to tramp all over the vast white expanses that surrounded their small village, she’d do it. 

Didn’t mean she was happy about it. Emiri rested her chin on her hand and surveyed the campsite They’d gotten a late enough start from Stalwart that they’d only made it halfway to the Russetwood before the sun started to sink. Emiri shivered at a gust of wind and wished futilely she’d listened when Kana and Aloth suggested waiting until morning to set out. But she wanted to get this over with and so had pushed on to at least make some progress.

 _Idiot,_ she scolded herself, glancing at her companions. Aloth and Pallegina seemed to share her opinion of the cold. Edér and Sagani didn’t seem phased by it, chatting on the fringes of the fire’s warmth while Edér smoked his pipe. Kana was shivering a bit but still hummed cheerfully as he scribbled down notes about the day’s events. All of them could be snug and warm at the Gréf’s Rest, but no. She’d been impatient and let her focus narrow too much.

Emiri sighed and finished off the last couple bites of her dinner. “Aside from me, who has watch tonight?” Edér and Kana each raised a hand. “Alright, either of you have a preference?”

Edér shrugged. “I take first, I guess.”

Emiri nodded and looked at Kana. “What about you?”

“No preference, Emiri,” he said gamely. “You take whichever you prefer and I’ll be fine with the other.”

Somehow she’d known he would say that. She also knew how her night was likely to go. “I’ll take second, you can have last.”

“Alright.” Kana nodded once and went back to his notes, still humming as he worked.

Emiri shivered again at another strong gust. “Well, if that’s worked out, I’m going to curl up in my nice warm bedroll and get some sleep before my watch.”

-o-

The night passed without incident, at least externally. The dreams were getting to be more of a problem, so Emiri was already awake when Edér came to get her for her watch. She spent the time eyeing the surrounding whiteness for anything suspicious or dangerous while her fingers worked through the knots to make a new bracelet. Kana had found absolutely _gorgeous_ dark blue thread in the last town they passed through before reaching the White March, and she wanted to use it before it got forgotten in the bottom of her pack. This pattern was a simple one, to account for how stiff the cold made her fingers, but still took her whole watch to finish. She hugged herself and shivered as she headed to wake Kana for his watch. _I hate this place, I hate the cold, I **hate it**._

Kana was easy to rouse--he wasn’t a particularly heavy sleeper, unlike some people she could name--and she was tired enough sleep was sure to come fast once she was snuggled in _her_ bedroll.

Or so she thought. The incessant whispers crept in every time she started to drift off, jolting her back to wakefulness. Emiri finally grumbled a few choice words under her breath and crawled back out, pulling on several extra layers(again) before venturing out into the cold(again). Kana was sitting on a boulder near the embers of their banked campfire, fingers drumming the beat of music she couldn’t hear against his knee.

“Can I join you?” she asked, and his hand fell still.

“Of course.” He gave her a concerned look. “Dreams again?”

“In part,” she admitted, hunching her shoulders. “I also _really_ hate the cold. I’m not used to it or made for it or anything.”

“I’m not terribly fond of it myself.” Kana laughed sheepishly. “But it is beautiful up here, and I’d love to be there when you open Durgan’s Battery, so I can endure a little cold for that.”

“When?” Emiri asked skeptically, picking at her bracelets until they hung outside her coat sleeve.

“When.” He smiled at her. “Looking at everything else you’ve accomplished, Emiri, I’ve no doubt you’ll succeed at this as well.”

She ducked her head, face heating at his confidence. “Thank you.”

An especially forceful gust of wind chose that moment to whirl around the campsite, shaking the tents, snuffing the embers, and driving Emiri to instinctively scoot closer to Kana, both of them shivering. Almost before she could register it happening, their closeness triggered a familiar tugging sensation deep in Emiri’s soul. She could almost smell sea air and feel the sun’s warmth.

 _No_ , she resisted, fighting it off. _Not without his permission._

“Emiri?” Kana was shooting her a questioning look. “Are you alright?”

“Oh, um, mmhm.” Emiri shivered, both from the cold and still feeling the tug. “I, uh,... sort of started to see your soul. I don’t know why, I wasn’t trying to,” she assured him hastily. “I don’t like doing that to _anyone_ without their say-so, especially not a.. a friend.”

He turned slightly to face her, looking more curious than anything. “Really? What did you see?”

“Nothing really. I broke the connection too fast.” She hesitated. “Do... you want me to?”

Kana chuckled softly, mindful of their sleeping compatriots. “I do have to admit a certain level of curiosity...”

Emiri laughed as well. “Because you wouldn’t be you without your curiosity.”

Almost hesitantly, as if worried about _her_ boundaries, Kana clasped her hand in his. “If I say it’s alright, are you willing to look again?”

Emiri nodded mutely, shiver of delight running up her spine because _Kana_ was _holding her hand_. _It’s not like **that**_ , she thought sternly to herself before tightening her own grasp and letting the ever-stronger pull tug her toward Kana’s soul.

-o-

_The wind was a welcome relief after three days of calm seas. Maybe they could reach port in time despite the delay._

_“Ondra must have decided to smile on us, after all,” Niya commented, leaning against the railing as she watched him steer. Her teeth gleamed when she smiled, contrasted sharply against her tan and red skin. “I told you it would work out.”  
_

_“You did,” he laughed. “Thank you for encouraging my little gamble.”  
_

_Niya shook her head, still smiling. “Far be it from me to get between you and the horizon, Manu. It’s why we make such a good team.”_

_“Well, one of the reasons,” he winked, before looking out to the horizon again. There was so much of the world to be seen, and after this delivery, he’d be free to see it. That was so close he could almost taste it. This load of cargo would pay off the_ Prosper _, Niya and almost all the crew were planning to stay on once it was no longer a company ship, and he already had maps in his cabin marked with the routes he most wanted to take._

_“What’re you daydreamin’ about this time?” Niya prodded with a grin as she picked at a hangnail.  
_

_“The future,” he said, firming up his grip on the wheel. “Ours, specifically.”  
_

_“Ah, so that’s why you look so happy,” she teased lightly. “I have that effect on people.”  
_

_He chuckled--”None more so than me”--and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek._

-o-

The vision faded slowly, leaving just Emiri and Kana holding hands in a dark and windy campsite. Emiri took a fwe more seconds to reorient herself, focusing on the warmth of Kana’s hand around hers for reasons beyond just an anchor back to the physical world. She could feel him practically vibrating with curiosity and excitement, impatient to ask but not wanting to rush her. Finally, she met his eye, not bothering to unclasp hands, and smiled. 

Kana matched it. “That bodes well.”

Emiri nodded. “A ship captain. Aumaua, like you are now. Happy and adventurous, and in love. He was about to finish his indenture and be a free man. He was looking forward to seeing more of the world.”

Kana’s smile widened. “A very good life indeed. Thank you for indulging my curiosity, Emiri.” He glanced down, released her hand as if still holding it was an oversight.

“No trouble at all,” Emiri assured him, curling her hand into a fist and shoving it in her pocket to hide how much she missed the warmth of his. “I’m only reluctant to use that ability if the person I’m seeing is unaware or unwilling. I don’t mind sating your curiosity in the slightest.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.” He paused for a moment, then continued, “Any chance it wore you out enough you can get some sleep now?” He rested his hand on her arm. “I know you’re already several hours short for the week.”

She mulled it over for a moment and realized she was actually tired. “Funnily enough, yes. Or, at least, enough to try again. Thank _you_ for always indulging me when my insomnia means I need a listening ear.”

“No trouble at all,” Kana smiled, using her own words as reassurance. “You’re good company, and I don’t mind.”

Emiri could feel her face heating, so she mumbled another quick expression of gratitude and beelined for her bedroll. She definitely wasn’t cold anymore, though a shiver of _something_ prickled up her spine.

Sleep still remained elusive, but she did try, and when the sun started to rise she didn’t feel exhausted in the slightest. She could live with that.


End file.
